🌱 Why are wetlands and riverine systems at risk?
Wetlands and riverine systems play a key role in protecting biodiversity, and they are therefore “central to any hopes of tackling the climate emergency facing our planet”.[i] Despite this, on “a global scale, 70% of rivers occur outside protected areas and only 11.1% are protected in their entirety”.[ii]
🌱 What needs to be done to protect wetlands and riverine systems?
In practice, steps need to be taken to ensure that bodies of water are (re)connected and that they are able to move freely. Companies’ activities on land or connected bodies of water — such as the unintentional runoff of substances or how fishing in oceans affects species in rivers — must also be considered and adequately managed.
🌱 What should companies focus on?
Responsible companies aiming to contribute to positive change must take proactive steps to try and “reverse the decline of natural wetlands”.[iii] The Emergency Recovery Plan by Tickner et al. sets out “six priority actions to curb freshwater biodiversity loss”. The recommended actions are: “1) Accelerating implementation of environmental flows, 2) Improving water quality, 3) Protecting and restoring critical habitats, 4) Managing exploitation of freshwater species and riverine aggregates, 5) Preventing and controlling non-native species invasions, and 6) Safeguarding and restoring river connectivity”.[iv]
🌱 What can companies do to protect rivers?
In practice, companies should ensure that water availability is managed, considering the connectivity of habitats, sediment flows, and natural movement of rivers. They should prevent chemicals from being released into the environment — or otherwise, carefully monitor these across entire hydrological systems. They should also closely monitor and manage the exploitation of species, as well as the broader effects this has on hydrological systems.[v]
This post has been adapted from a newsletter written by Krisna Baghouzian and Christine Nikander. The newsletter titled “How can businesses protect rivers and their biodiversity?” was originally published in “The Just Transition Newsletter” by Palsa & Pulk.
[i] Wetlands International, Call for an ambitious Global Biodiversity Framework on World Wetlands Day 2020. https://www.wetlands.org/call-for-an-ambitious-global-biodiversity-framework-on-world-wetlands-day-2020/ (20.02.2025)
[ii] Petersen et al., Incorporating free-flowing rivers into global biodiversity targets: Prioritization and targeted interventions to maintain ecological integrity (2022). https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1002/aqc.3898 (20.02.2025); Abell et al., Looking Beyond the Fenceline: Assessing Protection Gaps for the World's Rivers (2017). https://conbio.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/conl.12312 (20.02.2025); Perry et al., Global Analysis of Durable Policies for Free-Flowing River Protections (2021). https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/13/4/2347 (20.02.2025)
[iii] Wetlands International, Call for an ambitious Global Biodiversity Framework on World Wetlands Day 2020. https://www.wetlands.org/call-for-an-ambitious-global-biodiversity-framework-on-world-wetlands-day-2020/ (20.02.2025)
[iv] Tickner et al., Bending the Curve of Global Freshwater Biodiversity Loss: An Emergency Recovery Plan (2020). https://www.researchgate.net/publication/338344940_Bending_the_Curve_of_Global_Freshwater_Biodiversity_Loss_-_An_Emergency_Recovery_Plan (20. 02.2025)
[v] Tickner et al., Bending the Curve of Global Freshwater Biodiversity Loss: An Emergency Recovery Plan (2020). https://www.researchgate.net/publication/338344940_Bending_the_Curve_of_Global_Freshwater_Biodiversity_Loss_-_An_Emergency_Recovery_Plan (20. 02.2025); Gianuca et al., River flow intermittence influence biodiversity-stability relationships across spatial scales: Implications for an uncertain future (2024). https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/39162046/ (20.02.2025)